Does using a separate battery for the receiver override the ESC input? IOW, if I employ a 4.8V NiMH as power for the receiver, does that cause the receiver (Futaba 617) to ignore the six volts coming in from the ESC?

Or must I disable the BEC circuitry first?

The directions for the E-Flite 60A Pro-Switch-Mode say to cut the red wire on the receiver lead to disable the circuitry. They don't say anything about what this does other than disable the BEC. I'm new to electrics, so I don't have a clue.

Here's why I'm asking… my latest model uses older Futaba servos that are not rated for six volts. This didn't occur to me until I had them all mounted and hooked up. That model needs quite a bit of nose weight; so why not make it useful weight?

My goal here is to get 4.8 volts to the servos via a separate battery, while using a 4S 3900mAh TP main battery. These servos will run on six volts, but their operational life will be shortened.